Bill Clinton: Obama should honor his promise about keeping your plan if you like it

posted at 12:31 pm on November 12, 2013 by Allahpundit

Three possibilities here. One: If you’re married to the likely Democratic nominee in 2016, it’s never too early to start running away from ObamaCare. Two: With House Republicans set to pass Fred Upton’s “Keep Your Plan Act,” Clinton wants to make sure people know that Democrats want them to keep their plans too. Three: Clinton really does believe that Obama should keep his promise. I can buy either of the first two theories but not the third, for the simple reason that … there’s no obvious way for him to keep his promise at this point. That was the takeaway from yesterday’s post. But don’t take my word for it:

The White House is “just reacting to one broken promise by imposing a much larger and harmful one: our promise to insurers that if they priced fairly, we would deliver a broad pool of insured,” [Jon] Gruber wrote in an email. “If you allow the healthy enrollees to stay out in their old policy, the insurers lose money and the program falls apart.”…

“You just can’t send tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of ‘never mind’ letters out to policyholders on, maybe, a month’s notice,” said Robert Laszewski, a health insurance industry consultant at Health Policy and Strategy Associates. “So an executive order to change the regs would be like putting Humpty Dumpty back together.”…

Let healthy people re-enroll in their old, cheaper plans and you’re left with no way for insurers to pay for the preexisting conditions of sick enrollees that they’re now on the hook for. As for Upton’s bill:

Another insurance industry official said it would be “almost impossible to operationalize” the bill for 2014 — “bordering on herculean.”

Insurers often have to get state approval each year for their plans and premiums, which can take months. For these 2013 plans to get renewed in time for 2014, the federal government would have to circumvent state control of insurance plans — a significant change in precedent — or demand states swiftly approve the plans.

They screwed the pooch here by launching O-Care late in the year, when there isn’t time for insurers to readjust plans before new coverage takes effect on January 1. Clinton surely understands all of this too, which is why it’s interesting that he’d use a question about “if you like your plan” to urge O to keep his promise rather than try to get him off the hook by launching into some shpiel about how it’s “only” five percent who are losing their plans, how it needs to be that way to make sure the sick have coverage, etc. He’s doing Obama no favors by lending his centrist credibility to the idea that, yes indeed, getting blindsided with a cancellation notice is a legitimate grievance that the president should redress.

One last possibility, though: What if, instead of people re-enrolling in their old plans, they stayed on the new ones but got extra subsidies instead? That wouldn’t solve all of the problems with the new exchange-provided plans, like smaller provider networks, but it would make them more affordable. That’s probably a nonstarter too, though, for two reasons. First, not even Obama would presume to increase subsidies set by Congress via a unilateral executive order — I think. Second, even if he could increase the amount of subsidies himself, a couple of friends reminded me last night that the ObamaCare statute states that subsidies are available only for plans purchased on the exchange. That’s actually a fatal flaw with the “Plan B” I wrote about yesterday, wondering whether people could theoretically buy their plans directly on individual insurers’ websites. They can — but they can’t get subsidies if they go that route. You’ve got to get your plan on one of the exchanges to qualify for those. In fact, if you read the statute closely, it actually says that subsidies are available only for plans sold on state exchanges. There’s a lawsuit in federal court right now challenging subsidies for plans sold through Healthcare.gov because, after all, that’s a federal exchange, not a state one. For Obama to try to unilaterally boost subsidies despite all of that would be quite a power grab. So yeah, given his track record, it’s well within the realm of possibility that he’ll try.

Comments

“They just kept telling us how good it was going to be. The president[obozo] himself, when that was brought up in one group, said, ‘Well, the big difference here and in ’94 was you’ve got me.’ We’re going to see how much difference that makes now.”

One last possibility, though: What if, instead of people re-enrolling in their old plans, they stayed on the new ones but got extra subsidies instead? That wouldn’t solve all of the problems with the new exchange-provided plans, like smaller provider networks, but it would make them more affordable. That’s probably a nonstarter too, though, for two reasons. First, not even Obama would presume to increase subsidies set by Congress via a unilateral executive order — I think. Second, even if he could increase the amount of subsidies himself, a couple of friends reminded me last night that the ObamaCare statute states that subsidies are available only for plans purchased on the exchange. That’s actually a fatal flaw with the “Plan B” I wrote about yesterday, wondering whether people could theoretically buy their plans directly on individual insurers’ websites. They can — but they can’t get subsidies if they go that route. You’ve got to get your plan on one of the exchanges to qualify for those. In fact, if you read the statute closely, it actually says that subsidies are available only for plans sold on state exchanges. There’s a lawsuit in federal court right now challenging subsidies for plans sold through Healthcare.gov because, after all, that’s a federal exchange, not a state one. For Obama to try to unilaterally boost subsidies despite all of that would be quite a power grab. So yeah, given his track record, it’s well within the realm of possibility that he’ll try.

This could, potentially, be a huge opportunity for the Rs, if they played it right. What if they offered a bill that provided subsidies for one year, at a federal level, but hinged it on a complete phase-out of O’care by the following year? Or, give them two years of subsidies, with a phase-out, if a one-year phase-out looks to be logistically problematic.

If they framed it right, they could present themselves as saviors of the insurance industry and the people who got screwed by O’care, and present the phase-out as a justifiable roll-back of a huge chapter in big government overreach.

I’d love to see them try this. The Dems would sh*t their pants, especially the red-state ones, and Obama’d have a stroke.

It is too late for a significant number of people. They will be without insurance 1) because they can’t sign up. 2) it’s too expensive. 3) etc.

The best they could do is back off the excess regulations and pass legislation to downgrade the laws requiring these regulations. Then hope the insurance companies will come out with cheaper plans comparable to the old ones. The cost of the ‘pre-existing’ conditions will still be a stickler so something would have to be done about that also.

In the mean time people will still be without insurance and hopefully can find a way to get medical assistance without it. At risk will be those already under care that needs continuing care. When the consequences of that fubar happens it is then time for criminal charges against those who designed and voted and implemented this. Of course, the department of injustice will not touch it.

Wasn’t Bill Clinton the first President to try to impose government health insurance?

But if Obama wants to try to subsidize the individuals who have lost their insurance, and needs $ from Congress to do it, Republicans should propose offering the subsidies for the individuals for 2014 in exchange for permanently repealing the employer mandate.

Sometime in the spring the stories of people with cancer or other serious conditions whose insurance was cancelled and whose treatment was compromised or terminated, and who suffered and died as a result will start popping up. The first few will be suppressed, then a really horrifying one will break through the media embargo, and then more and more will break and people will begin to grasp the human cost Obama and his corrupt, incompetent tools have inflicted on the nation.

I’m very afraid. I don’t think people have begun to grasp the magnitude of the disaster of Obamacare.

Clinton knew people wouldn’t be able to keep their plans. Plus it’s too late now for those of us who have already lost them.

He knows it’s impossible to keep them, with the law the way it is.

Alana

The voice of…not reason but fact in the wilderness. They, the old plans are gone (to borrow a word from Obama) PERIOD.

Like sands through the hour glass they don’t exist, wishin’ and hopein’ and prayin’ won’t bring them back. The dirty secret is it is too late to cancel Obamacare, it’s there and will be there for the remainder of our lives. We can only try to kill the worst parts and try to let the private insurance health markets invent new ways to forstall this train wreck. Even that is pretty much pie in the sky.

Not that I’m hopeful those idiots are smart enough to do it, remember they SUPPORTED OC from the beginning, believing the lie that Obama was going to give them 40 – 90 million new clients. If they were that gullible then I’m not hopeful they’ll be any smarter now. Who was the Russians who said they could sell the rope to Americans to hang themselves with? That was the insurance companies.

My advice is to save your money, look into traveling to Belize and the Dominican Republic for your serious health care needs in the future. Both countries are investing millions in setting up their already thriving health care “tourism”. Just Google “Belize health care for foreigners” I guess if you gotta get sick, getting treated in a tropical paradise is better than hoping Canada will be any better. Belikin beer brewed in Belize is pretty good, actually, a cold average beer on a beach in Belize is better than a great beer in Minnesota any time.

Please, please, please believe me, we’ve lost the health care we’ve had since the 50’s. It is gone, finished, dead, un-revivable. There is a slight (very slight) possibility that new concierge health care might be fairly good (my former doctor only takes cash, no insurance, period)

Let me re-cap. Health care you were used to is gone and it will never come back!!.

It disappeared the day that John Roberts proved that invitations to swanky Washington DC parties were more important to his wife than the Constitution was to him.

“…it’s time to start considering the worst-case scenarios: that the exchanges continue to malfunction, that plan cancellations go into effect, that insurers see the political winds shifting and stop playing nice with the administration, and that significant numbers of people are left stranded without coverage as a result. Rather than reforming the individual market, which was flawed but did work for some people, Obamacare will have destroyed it and left only dysfunction and chaos in its wake.”

I remember him from the podium wagging his finger and saying to the entire world: “I did not have sex with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.” Then there was the BLUE DRESS.
Sure Bill, the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

He sure was a really good liar.
But he’s been bested by King Putt in each and every category of LYING.

Bubba NEVER forgets! He has been waiting for something like this. Just greasing the skids for his wife to run is all. Nothing to see here. After 16 years of Dem rule in the White House, there won’t be much of the country left either.

Obamacare likely to destroy private health insurance mkt. GOP would be wise to have a conservative solution ready to go when emergency hits.

525 Retweets 182 Favorites

8:21 PM – 11 Nov 13

The conservative solution is the same as it was before, and requires nothing to be ‘ready to go’ – remove the regulation that hampers the market (eg: allow insurance companies to sell across state lines), and release the market. Customizable solutions that meet people’s custom needs, at competitive rates, will be in place for people in a week or so.

The dems are all looking a wee bit ill lately. If the dems were smart they would start demanding impeachment for Zero and repeal of ZeroCare. They all feel like the Coyote holding the acme anvil with no cliff under his feet.

Please, please, please believe me, we’ve lost the health care we’ve had since the 50′s. It is gone, finished, dead, un-revivable. There is a slight (very slight) possibility that new concierge health care might be fairly good (my former doctor only takes cash, no insurance, period)

Let me re-cap. Health care you were used to is gone and it will never come back!!.

It disappeared the day that John Roberts proved that invitations to swanky Washington DC parties were more important to his wife than the Constitution was to him.

Cash is now king in the health care world.

E9RET on November 12, 2013 at 4:24 PM

I have joined a new plan in NYC, where we pay $89.00 per month each for unlimited urgent care visits, yearly physical, wide array of tests and in office procedures. They have 6 offices, one in each borough (2 in Queens.) The founding doctor and I had an in-depth talk. He is hopeful that when this mess collapses, his type of primary care plan, in conjunction with health savings accounts and catastrophic plans will be the new norm.

Meanwhile, people who sign onto the exchange plans will still find 89 monthly cheaper than 12,700 deductible per family.

The conservative solution is the same as it was before, and requires nothing to be ‘ready to go’ – remove the regulation that hampers the market (eg: allow insurance companies to sell across state lines), and release the market. Customizable solutions that meet people’s custom needs, at competitive rates, will be in place for people in a week or so.

Midas on November 12, 2013 at 11:38 PM

We also need easing of the health savings accounts regulations. Here in NY, it was tied to having an approved catastrophic plan, of which were very limited choices.
Something also needs to be done with people who have pre-existing conditions. This is an area where the Federal government could subsidize heavily, perhaps pool them nationally, rather than state by state and strip out all of the extras that raised the premiums with Ocare. Pediatric dental, free birth control, etc, mean nothing to a person in desperate need of an oncologist or neurologist, after all.

As for the expanded Medicaid, which I’m sure they will bleat about, let the states who want to cram more people into the plan, but I would not give them extra funds from the Federal government.